Last Blog Post

A friend suggested that I blog our journey to China. She said it would be a great way to keep track of the "God moments". She was RIGHT! 

God has SO blessed our family!

Life gets busy and we tend to forget all the little details, all the God moments big and small.

I love having them ALL written down.

I am using Blog2print.com to get a bound book made of this blog. As we forget the details we can look back at our book.

Although it may not appear this way - since I have shared so many nitty gritty details of our journey - I am actually a private person. I don't really like the spot light. I don't like to be on stage or have everyone looking my way. I don't really have profound advice or things to say like many bloggers.

I am sure life will have many more wonderful adventures, but this is the end of our Journey of Faith to China.

We tackled the MOUNTAIN of paperwork, we adventured over the seas to a FAR away land, and now Darren BRAVED his life changing heart surgery.

THANK YOU my friends and family for following along on our journey and PRAYING for our family...I am forever grateful,

Sandy

Darren and other CHD survivors are shown in this CHD awareness video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cspvP-tjORs&feature=youtu.be

Post Surgery Check Up

Today we headed back to U of M for a post surgery check up. 

When I mentioned to Darren that we were going to get a picture of his chest today, the first thing he said was "NO SQUIRREL!"

This little guy is a SMART ONE!

In the x-ray rooms they have pictures on the ceiling. They are turtles or sting rays...but Darren is convinced they are squirrels and he is scared of them. (I am convinced they must have weird looking squirrels in China - hee hee!)

Darren's O2 saturation was 94!

Everything looked and sounded GREAT!

Darren still has a tiny bit of fluid in his right lung. It is a small enough amount that they are not worried about it AND even reduced him down to ONE MEDICATION!

That is RIGHT - ONLY two doses of one MED. a DAY!!

(If you don't count Miralax taken once daily or Motrin as needed)

 Enjoying a favorite ball exhibit in the radiology waiting room.

AND of course we had to make a pit stop to look for "bussies" out our favorite bus finding window :)

EVERY morning I wake up and look at Darren and think to myself 

"HE IS A MIRACLE"

 (How can your heart be SO broken? How can you require such a HUGE surgery? How can you be SO sick after surgery? How can you be SO healthy now?....ONLY GOD!!!)

Darren is a walking, breathing, living MIRACLE OF GOD! 

and I think...what if Darren was still living in an orphanage with a broken heart and waiting for a family? What if we had said "no" to him? What if we had let all our doubts and fears make our adoption decisions? The thoughts literally makes me feel sick :(

Darren is such a sweet, silly, wonderful, brave, courageous little boy

...and I am privileged to be HIS MAMA!

Blessings, Sandy

We are home!

We didn't get discharged until 2pm. It gave Darren and I a chance to do a few of our favorite activities. He LOVED the rice table in the playroom AND he LOVED looking out the hallway window for buses "bussies" :)

There is NOTHING like home! 

Spending time with/hugging my sweet BLESSINGS!

Sleeping in MY own bed!

Knowing our sweet boy is HEALTHY enough to be home!
.

NOT being woken up every HOUR or TWO!

Our heart shaped welcome home cake :)

Madeline got creative with her nails...heart monitor rhythms!

PRAISING GOD FOR HEALING OUR SWEET BOY!

Thank you for ALL your prayers during this life changing journey!!

Blessings, Sandy

HOME!!

WE ARE GOING HOME TODAY!!!!

(Darren has a little fluid in his right lung - but he is being sent home on diuretics and will have a follow up appt./chest x-ray in a week or two to check that it is gone)

PRAISE GOD FROM WHOM ALL BLESSINGS FLOW!

Off to pick up our prescriptions...then to pack :)

Sandy  

 

A video

The last two weeks have been so emotional for me. I am not a crier...but I have shed so many tears. Feelings of being overwhelmed and feelings of sadness for the pain Darren was having to endure just brought me to tears over and over again.

The night before Darren's surgery our wonderful photographer made this video for our family. Darren watched it over and over again. You could just see in his face that he was thinking deep thoughts. I imagined it was something along the lines of "This is MY family...I have a mama and a baba..."

I haven't been able to watch this video again until tonight. Between the deep fear of losing our new son and missing my kids/hubby at home I just knew I would fall apart watching it.

But tonight Darren and I watched "Darren's video". We both feel excited and hopeful about going home tomorrow so this video just brought smiles to our faces, not tears.

http://video214.com/play/crBmyJ1COE2lZup6xzG0sw/s/dark

Wednesday PM

I am feeling hopeful that we are going home tomorrow!

I am PRAYING Darren's chest x-ray looks good.

I am not worried about his appetite - since Darren ate SO WELL today!

Darren spent ALL day on room O2 - PRAISE GOD!!

THREE MONTHS ago yesterday was GOTCHA DAY

TWO WEEKS ago today I sat waiting with my sweet boy - just before they took him back for surgery - tears welling up in my eyes for the difficult journey ahead of him.

I have grown so much in the past two weeks - it almost feels like Darren and I have been at the hospital for a year so much has happened. 

I have learned that Darren is one of the bravest, toughest, sweetest little boys I have EVER met!

My love for Darren has grown deeper then I ever imagined possible.

I have learned how much God LOVES and CARES for my family.

I have learned to reach out to friends and family in those darkest hours.

I have learned how giving and self-less my kids at home can be to a brother they have only recently met.

I have felt the love of a spouse who is holding it all together at home and at work for our family.

I have felt the unconditional love and support and the willing to give it all - of my mom who schooled, fed, and transported my at home kids AND then visited me/supported me at the hospital.

I am forever grateful to EVERYONE who helped us through this AWESOME/life changing journey to bring our son home AND have his heart fixed - xoxo, Sandy

Wednesday mid-day

25 bites of watermelon!

1 carton of milk!

3/4 carton of Cheerios!

1 cup cooked white rice (with soy sauce)!

ALL BY NOON!

PRAISE GOD HIS APPETITE IS BACK!!!

He is actually eating MORE then normal :) 

"They" started out the day saying that no matter what Darren ate today he would be getting a feeding tube tonight. "They" seem to have changed their tune...AND seem to understand that we are NOT going down without a fight :) 

I should explain that I want THE BEST for our boy. I just felt yesterday that we were at the beginning of eating and it would only get better.  If they had suggested a feeding tube on Saturday...I would have agreed without thinking twice. Darren wasn't eating and was sick (right lung) on Saturday...but yesterday he was getting BETTER and starting to eat...the feeding tube just didn't make sense.

I am soooo PRAYING he continues to eat - but I am feeling soooo HAPPY that his appetite is back!

AND AND AND...

"they" are talking discharge TOMORROW!!

(Today is TWO WEEKS in the hospital in case anyone is counting!)   

"they" say...discharge if Darren's chest x-ray looks good AND he is eating.

I PRAY that both those are true :)

Blessings, Sandy